Working to Restore: Harnessing the Power of Regenerative Business to Heal the World

Business “is a powerhouse that can steer the economy and consumer behavior, and the impact all that has on Mother Earth, in a direction for the better,” contends journalist Chhabra in her optimistic debut. She showcases companies that have developed ethical business models by prioritizing their “two major stakeholders”: Earth and its people. She profiles Barb Stegemann, founder of the Canadian 7 Virtues perfume company, whose insistence on developing a supply chain that offered dignity to all parties led her to contract with a rose blossom farmer in Afghanistan who desperately needed the financing after his orchard was devastated by warlords. Other businesses include a coffee company that pays high dividends to its Nicaraguan women employees, whose labor harvesting and processing coffee beans otherwise often goes unpaid; hoteliers whose facilities and tours of Flåm, Norway, provide eco-friendly alternatives to the cruise ships that pass through the town; and Indian engineers who developed a low-cost anemia diagnosis device for the country’s underserved rural population. Though Chhabra is clear-eyed about the broad, systemic changes needed to bring about a more just world, the uplifting stories she highlights show how individuals might create more equitable possibilities within the current system. Readers will be inspired. (Mar.)